


The Widow

by FunnyWings



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 1940s, 1940s AU, Actress!Cas, Cold War Era, Detective Noir, F/F, Murder Mystery, PI!Dean, fem!destiel, girl!Cas, girl!Dean, reporter!sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 20:15:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11721762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunnyWings/pseuds/FunnyWings
Summary: Mysterious starlet Castiel Lucci is newly widowed, and obviously not grieving. Private Detective Deanna Winchester is hired to investigate Castiel's husband's death.Excerpt:Deanna fit into the shadows of the party as much as Cas fit into spotlight. It was hard to take eyes off the young starlet, and a glance around was enough to prove that she wasn’t the only one looking or the only one who felt the magnetic mystery surrounding the woman. There was something about her Deanna didn’t quite trust, but the underlying sense of danger Deanna could read in the tense set of the actress’ shoulders just made her all the more intoxicating.





	The Widow

**Author's Note:**

> The story takes place between late 1949 and early 1950.

Deanna fit into the shadows of the party as much as Cas fit into spotlight. It was hard to take eyes off the young starlet, and a glance around was enough to prove that she wasn’t the only one looking or the only one who felt the magnetic mystery surrounding the woman. There was something about her Deanna didn’t quite trust, but the underlying sense of danger Deanna could read in the tense set of the actress’ shoulders just made her all the more intoxicating.

“You shouldn’t stare,” said a familiar voice from beside Deanna. She didn’t have to turn to know that Crowley was standing behind her. “Someone might notice you looking, pet.”

“I should have expected you’d be here,” said Deanna, turning around and taking the second glass of champagne she knew Crowley would be holding for her. He had a soft spot for her, though she preferred not to think on it. They’d briefly been engaged, but that had been a result of a foolish fling when Deanna was still young and Crowley had seemed to know the world better than she did.

As it turned out, they’d both been bad for each other. That, and their business interests tended to trend in different directions. Crowley spending a few months in the joint had been long enough for Deanna to come to her senses where he was concerned.

“And I should have known you’d have your eyes on the widow,” said Crowley. “Let her grieve, for God’s sake. Or celebrate. I’m not here to judge.”

“You think she did it?” asked Deanna, sipping from her flute of champagne and then wrinkling her nose in mild distaste.

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Crowley pointed out. “Someone must have hired you.”

“His cousin,” agreed Deanna. “I was the first to agree that perhaps Niccolo Lucci hadn’t died of the most natural of causes. He was rather desperate for someone to believe him.”

“And I’m sure you gladly assured him you’d look into it after you took his money.”

“You don’t turn down easy money, and Michele Lucci was offering pennies from heaven,” muttered Deanna. “Is it a crime to get paid?”

Crowley shrugged.

“First suspect is always the spouse,” he said, eyes back on Cas. The actress was currently engaged in a conversation with a pretty redhead with a vicious smile. Deanna snickered a moment at the mismatched body language of Cas’ unfazed smile and clenched fists.

“I’m not convinced she did it.”

“Hmm,” said Crowley thoughtfully. “Just make sure you decide that with your mind and not with your eyes, Deanna. I worry about you.”

“If you worried about me, you wouldn’t encourage me,” said Deanna flippantly. Her eyes scanned the room again, trying to get a sense for the dynamics between the high powered men and women mingling. “I think you hope I’ll get into trouble.”

“Frequently. And then I remember that I’m usually the one who has to get you out of it,” he replied. “Or has your brother deigned to speak to you again?”

Deanna narrowed her eyes.

“Since we’re bringing up sore subjects… we haven’t discussed Rowena in an age. How is the old witch doing?”

“Point taken,” said Crowley, finishing his champagne in a final swallow. “I’m going to find myself a date who doesn’t mouth off quite so much.”

His eyes flicked back towards Cas.

“Good luck interrogating your suspect,” he said with a hint of amusement in his eye. “Don’t do anything I would do.”

“My life motto,” said Deanna. She watched as Crowley struck up conversation with someone well to do and well dressed to offer a cigar and suggestive comments until Mr. Hollywood Schmuck took the hint. She raised her glass to him as he left the party and he winked back at her.

Deanna went back to scanning the crowd and trying to imagine a natural way to speak with the recently widowed Castiel Lucci. Failing that, she struck up a conversation with one of the starlet’s other admirers and managed to learn a fairly detailed history of Lucci’s filmography. Deanna had always been a quick study, and it was no trouble to commit the information to memory.

Perhaps any other time Lucci did not like to be approached by her fans, but whatever her associate was flapping her lips about was obviously making her uncomfortable and she latched onto Deanna’s attempt to interrupt their conversation with the force of a storm.

“I don’t normally do this sort of thing, but I’ve got a buzz off this champagne and I just had to talk to you,” said Deanna, smiling the way she’d found made most men do about anything she wanted and a good amount of dames too. If you had the eye for it. “I just adore your movies.”

Lucci was hard to read, sure, but Deanna thought she might read interest beyond escaping her current companion in those movie star blue eyes of hers.

“Oh… you’ve seen them?” said Cas. She had a smoker’s voice, deep and husky. Deanna had only actually caught one of the films Lucci had been in, and she’d thought it was put on. Apparently, she’d been mistaken. “I have to admit, I don’t have anything of use to say about any of them. I don’t much like watching myself on screen.”

Cas breathed a sigh of relief when the redhead sensed she wasn’t going to continue whatever conversation Deanna had interrupted, and promptly split.

“She make for crummy conversation?” asked Deanna, tilting her head towards the retreating dame. Lucci smiled a fraction, still giving nothing away.

“Abby makes for fascinating conversation,” said Lucci. “I’d just rather not be part of it.”

“Rather be talking to little old me?” Deanna asked, letting herself lean fractionally further into Cas’ space. That seemed to rattle her for a second, if only a second. Then she gamely joined in on the game Deanna had initiated.

“Depends what you want to talk about,” said Cas. She was prettier when she blushed, Deanna decided. Then again, however you split it, she was a dish. Deanna swatted away Crowley’s warning not to decide anyone’s innocence with her eyes. Lucci didn’t seem to pick up on her momentary conflict. “Can I get a name?”

“Dee, short for Daphne Smith,” Deanna lied fluidly. She had an assortment of aliases at her disposal and went for the one she’d used her first time working a case not under the eye of her father. Of course, she only worked for him in an unofficial capacity, because the cops didn’t think much of a lady getting her hands dirty and Deanna didn’t have much patience for monitoring traffic. Figuring how a puzzle pieced itself together was her passion, and private contracting was the only way to do that. “And I already know your name.”

“Everyone seems to when they want something,” said Cas shrewdly. “So what do you want, Ms. Smith?”

“Miss, huh?” asked Deanna. “Just assume I’m not spoken for?”

“I don’t see a rock.”

“And besides, I just wanted to talk, doll,” said Deanna, not for a moment acknowledging Cas’ correct observation that she lacked a wedding band or engagement ring. “God’s honest truth.”

“About my movies?”

“If you want, cookie,” said Deanna. “Anything to help you through hard times. It’s a shame about your husband.”

“Yes. A shame,” said Cas coldly, all humor gone in an instant. “If you’ll excuse-“

“Or maybe it’s not a shame,” said Deanna, a hand on Cas’ forearm. She felt a moment of guilt in abusing what seemed to be genuine attraction between them to get Lucci to implicate herself, but Deanna was hardly known for being fair. She strengthened her resolve and once more committed to the character of star struck fanatic, the type of person willing to overlook even murder if it meant being close to the starlet. “How’re you doing, Cas?”

“Swell,” she said quietly, her eyes stuck fast to where Deanna was touching her. “Are you really hitched?”

“Why do you ask?” said Deanna, surprised at just how forward Cas was being. She hadn’t actually planned on taking the flirting this far. She’d planned even less for if Cas made a pass at her. Before her marriage, Cas’d always been thought of in the public consciousness as a bit of a cold fish. Word of mouth had it that she’d not thought much of kissing her costars.

“We could talk privately, if you’re so interested in what I have to say,” said Cas, one eyebrow raised. “But I’d hate to leave some poor Joe waiting up all night for you in worry.”

It was an easy way out of doing something Deanna knew was a bad idea. Lucci was sharp, and a lot less reserved than Deanna had been led to assume by the admirer she’d spoken to earlier. She was also a dreamboat, and God help her, sometimes Deanna could be weak.

“I think you’re tricking me into admitting I’m single,” said Deanna. Telling a possible murderer you’ve got no one in particular looking out for you didn’t seem to be the best idea, so she didn’t leave it at that. “My brother and father might mind, but I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“Then let’s skip,” said Cas. “Unless you were enjoying the party?”

Deanna looked at the mixture of drunken and stiff conversations taking place around them and made a face. For a moment, a too wide smile flashed across Lucci’s face.

“I’m up for a change in venue,” said Deanna. “You have anywhere in mind?”

“Oh, yes.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Cas wasn’t one to hold back from what she wanted, apparently. There was hardly any pretense of talking before she’d offered to give Deanna the tour of her sizable apartment, a tour which started and ended with the bedroom.

She was like a wild thing when Deanna broke down and kissed her. She peeled off her dress in a moment, guiding Deanna’s hands to her hips and happily kissing every inch of skin she could reach as she clumsily undressed Deanna.

“Take your time, cookie,” Deanna had murmured into her ear when Cas’d nearly tripped over her discarded shoes in an effort to lead Deanna to her bed. The starlet let out a huff of frustration and nailed Deanna down with the imperious look she was famous for.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

Deanna grinned, laying down and pulling Cas down with her. She let out a startled yelp when she was tugged down and frowned grumpily when Deanna playfully tapped her under the chin.

“C’mon then, baby,” said Deanna. “Show me what you’ve got.”

And by all that was good and holy did Cas follow through on that.

Castiel tried her best to be a respectable host after the fireworks were finished, offering whatever Deanna needed and saying there was a guest room she could use if she didn’t feel like going home this late at night. Deanna had but to tug her in by the shoulder before Cas was curling into her, sighing happily as she used Deanna’s chest as a pillow.

“I needed that,” said Cas, her thumb lightly caressing Deanna’s stomach. “You have no idea how much I needed that.”

“I have some idea,” Deanna teased, squeezing the arm she had wrapped around Cas’ waist lightly. Happiness buzzed under her skin, like it always did when good sex was involved. It was nice to linger in the afterglow and postpone the eventual goodbye that always followed. The thought of that sobered Deanna enough that she remembered exactly why she’d agreed to come home with Lucci in the first place. “So… I’m guessing your marriage wasn’t a happy one.”

Cas nodded, tugging Deanna closer and nuzzling into her affectionately.

“You could say that,” she murmured bitterly. “It was a farce. Niccolo offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse. I thought it was kind of him at the time. I should have looked more into the legal details. Everything that was mine was his. And he never hesitated to remind me of it.”

“Why get married at all?” asked Deanna. Cas sighed and closed her eyes as she continued her story.

“I was having an affair with a friend of mine,” she admitted quietly. “It ended badly with her.”

“Her husband found out?”

“He would have if he knew how to find his way home at night,” said Cas, her sarcasm as subtle as it was biting. “Other people suspected, though. Meg was concerned what he might do if he was informed and she needed to find some way to dismiss the rumors. Niccolo was a mutual friend and he suggested a solution. I did what I did to protect her. He took advantage of that, and now I have to wear his last name as a reminder.”

“But he’s gone,” Deanna reminded her. “He jumped off a balcony.”

Cas went quiet when Deanna said that and Deanna swallowed, trying not to tense up.

“He did do the deed, didn’t he?” Deanna asked.

Cas’ voice got even softer than it had been before.

“I don’t know,” she said. “He left a note saying he wanted to leave everything to me. It was written in his hand, I can’t dispute that. But he hated me. He’d have tried to rob me of every penny I owned if he lived to see it or not. One reason I had to stay married to him was I’d have lost everything if I didn’t.”

“But now he’s dead,” said Deanna. “Seems you have a lot to gain by that.”

Cas opened her eyes and frowned at Deanna, a hint of suspicion beginning to form.

“Let’s get some shut eye,” said Deanna as quickly as she could manage before Cas decided that Deanna had gone a step too far inquiring into Niccolo’s death. At first Cas still seemed to have a question at the tip of her tongue, but she let it go quietly and relaxed into Deanna’s side.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Deanna was gone long before Cas woke up, and paused only long enough to tuck Cas’ chin length dark locks behind her ear. It tugged at feelings she thought she’d successfully removed herself from to see Cas smile in her sleep at the touch.

“Ain’t you an angel,” said Deanna, loud as she dared. Cas Lucci didn’t stir, and Deanna tugged on the blouse, skirt, and heels she’d worn to the party the night before and walked down to the street where she’d parked her car when she’d followed Cas back to her home.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” Deanna said to the black beauty. The car hummed to life under her hands, jittering slightly in what Deanna interpreted to be disapproval. “I’ve screwed this all up, haven’t I, baby?”

Deanna sighed and pulled out of the driveway, a destination already in mind. Good thing she knew the person she’d be visiting would be up and at ‘em, even at this indecent hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“What’s buzzin’, cousin?” asked Deanna after she’d stealthily schmoozed her way past Sam’s office’s secretary. “Still trying to save the world one write up at a time?”

Sam was well known within some circles as a solid reporter. Deanna had her toes in enough pools to know that he was doing well for himself, and had quietly collected the grudging respect of his colleagues. But he was also her baby brother, and admitting out loud that she was proud of him after the cold shoulder he’d been giving her recently just wasn’t something she could make herself do.

“What are you doing here?”

Straight to business then. Deanna scowled.

“I’m working on something, and I was hoping you could dig up a thing or two for me,” she said. “You familiar with Cas Lucci?”

“Actress. Widow,” Sam confirmed, sipping his coffee like it was the only thing keeping him alive. “What about her?”

“I’m looking into her husband’s death. I was hoping you could tell me if you knew anyone associated with either Mr. or Mrs. Lucci that went by the name of Meg.”

Sam frowned at her.

“Meghan Masters?” he asked after a moment. “Also an actress. Haven’t you seen Goodbye to Strangers?”

“Must’ve missed that one,” said Deanna with a shrug. “So she and Cas were in a movie together. Good to know. What about Niccolo?”

Sam looked like he was about to answer before he stopped himself and shook his head.

“No. I said I’m not encouraging this, and I’m not. You’re gonna get yourself killed like this, playing at being-“

“Playing at being what, Sam?” asked Deanna.

“I don’t know. A cop, a detective, whatever title you’re using to justify chasing down dangerous people. You were eighteen when you ran away with Crowley after dad said he wouldn’t give you permission to marry him, you remember that? You couldn’t keep away from trouble if you tried.”

Deanna rolled her eyes. Sam never had been able to let that go, and he was even more sore at her now because of how one of her more recent cases had ended. Everything had been strained between them since Deanna had sported a black eye and split lip courtesy of an encounter with a man named Alastair, and Sam had refused to help her any more on cases. It’d been six months since he gave her the ultimatum of giving up her job or giving up his time.

Deanna had figured it would take another four for him to come around, but she didn’t have that kind of time right now.

“This case is important to me,” said Deanna. Sam raised an eyebrow in disbelief and Deanna kept talking. “Either Cas is behind it, or there’s a good chance she was framed. The note Niccolo left couldn’t have been from him.”

“You have some sort of proof of this?” asked Sam. He looked hopeful, and Deanna wondered if he wanted an excuse to help her. Sure, he hadn’t called her since her visit to the hospital, but Sam could be stubborn when he set his mind to it.

“Only what Cas told me,” said Deanna, trying not to flinch when she saw Sam’s face fall a little. She pressed through. “They got married to cover up an affair. Niccolo hated Cas by the time of his death. He’d never have written that note.”

Sam was actually holding his head in his hands at this point, which was the opposite of encouraging.

“Tell me you didn’t,” he said.

“Didn’t do what?”

“Didn’t sleep with Castiel Lucci,” said Sam. “For one thing, even you’ve got to know just how stupid you’re being. For another, doesn’t it strike you as below board to romance information out of someone?”

“Nothing sappy was involved, and I’m sure Cas can take care of herself. She doesn’t need you defending her honor,” said Deanna. “Trust me, she got her kicks and I doubt she’ll spare a thought for me when all this is said and done.”

Sam frowned even deeper at that.

“I’ll never see the point of you messing around,” he muttered to himself.

“Where’s your five kids and a wife?” Deanna shot back at him. “Like I don’t know that’s what you mean when you tell me to stop stirring up trouble? Get myself married to some Joe or hotshot and buy a house in the suburbs.”

“I want you to be safe!” said Sam. “I don’t care how. I just want you to be safe.”

Sam looked away when Deanna didn’t answer right away. A few moments later, she spoke up.

“You could always work with me, if you care so much. Two heads are better than one.”

“Damn. I thought you might actually be here to say sorry to me,” muttered Sam. “You know that’s never going to happen. Doesn’t matter what you say and doesn’t matter how disappointed Dad is-“

“Hey fat-head,” Deanna interrupted. “You think Dad’s disappointed in you? You think the man that has every article you’ve ever written in his drawer down at the station is disappointed in you? Oh, what a burden for you to turn down your chance for a shoo in application for the cops when they’d throw mine out at the first pass if my last name wasn’t Winchester. And even that only got me in the door. Dad thinks the world of his precious son and his goddamned stories, but what am I to the man? His numbskull daughter who wants to do a man’s job, that’s what. I’m not asking you for him. I’m asking for me, because I never wanted to do this alone. And you’d make a hell of a PI, Sam.”

Sam wouldn’t make eye contact with her after that and Deanna knew she had done nothing in the way of making things better between them. But damn did she not care in the moment.

“I’ll look into Lucci and Masters,” said Sam at last. “But you have to promise me you’ll be smart about this case.”

“When am I not?” asked Deanna, crossing her arms defensively.

Sam Winchester looked heavenward and let out a heavy sigh.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Deanna settled back down into the comfy chair she’d made Charlie find her when they’d first set out to start up Deanna’s business as a private detective. Once comfortable, she reached into her front pocket, only to realize that the pack of cigarettes she’d bought the day before were gone. She realized she must have lost the pack when Cas had practically torn the coat off her the night before.

“Charlie? Can I bum a cigarette off you?” she called out. She had a stack of newspapers in front of her to scan in hopes of gaining more insight into the Lucci case, a task she wasn’t looking forward to. She’d much rather be playing with Charlie’s gadgets, which Deanna had used with moderate success to eavesdrop on more than a few marks.

“I quit,” Charlie called back. “Frank says the heavy smokers he’s done autopsies on don’t look right. He’s working on some theory about the whole thing.”

“Frank’s paranoid,” Deanna called back.

“So’s everyone who’s got a bit of brains,” Charlie argued. “And if you’re so antsy, go out and buy a pack yourself.”

Deanna considered doing that, if only to spite Charlie, when she heard the door to their office open and loudly shut. A familiar voice floated in from the front room, and Deanna froze with her hand reaching towards her coat.

“Oh, you’re not…” came Cas’ voice, sounding both confused and angry. “I was looking for someone else. Uh, Winchester. Daphne Winchester?”

Deanna vaguely wondered how Cas had managed to figure out her name to only get half of it right, but was more concerned with not being found. Luckily, Charlie knew what to do when someone came calling who was obviously not supposed to be there.

“Sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong place,” said Charlie. “Say, aren’t you Cas Lucci?”

“Yes,” said Castiel, sounding mildly annoyed. “I was sure this was the room number I was told. Her brother, Sam, told me I’d find her here. She’s investigating my husband’s death, and I think I have a right to speak with her.”

“No one named Daphne works here,” said Charlie breezily, though Deanna knew Charlie well enough that she could read the hesitation in her voice. That was not a good sign. Damn Cas, and her sympathy inducing big, blue eyes.

“Dee Winchester?” Castiel tried. Deanna waited for Charlie to answer, and held in a huff of annoyance when it came.

“Deanna,” Charlie said, correcting Cas. “Look, she’s not in right now, but I can drop a line when she gets here. Okay?”

There was a moment of silence then, and then Charlie let out a little squawk of indignity, and a moment later Deanna’s door burst open and Castiel marched right in with Charlie rushing after her and glancing apologetically at Deanna.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette, would you?” Deanna asked to break the tension. Cas’ stare was as cold as a popsicle in winter. “Jesus, I was only asking.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Deanna wasn’t quite sure how she’d managed to calm Cas down enough to convince her to smoke out on the balcony with her. Charlie hadn’t been a big help, in all honesty. It was pretty clear that Deanna’s partner in crime thought she more than deserved Cas’ careful tongue-lashing. No doubt Charlie had read between the lines of ‘taking advantage of Cas’ trust’ to understand what Deanna’s true sins might be.

Maybe Cas was just weighing her options when it came to pushing Deanna off the balcony, and that’s why she agreed to speak outside. There was still a chance that was exactly what had happened to Niccolo Lucci.

“Look, doll-“

“Don’t call me doll,” said Cas, taking a deep drag from her cigarette. She let it all out in a cloud of smoke that obscured her pretty face for a moment. “I didn’t kill my husband.”

“What would you say if you had killed your husband?” asked Deanna. Castiel raised an eyebrow at her.

“I certainly wouldn’t have told a perfect stranger I was glad he was dead.”

“You have to understand, Cas, my job means I have to explore all avenues of inquiry. You’re a suspect.”

“You’re a jerk,” Cas retorted. “I confided in you, and it was all part of a ploy to lure me into admitting to murder!”

“I lured you? Who made a pass at who, huh, Cas?” asked Deanna. “I seem to remember you’re the one who invited me home. Yeah, I lied about who I was when I met you, but you were just a mark. You weren’t supposed to actually be interested.”

“Like I said, you’re a jerk,” said Castiel, glaring at Deanna a moment before seeming to lose the will to hold onto her anger. Instead, she just looked resigned. “Who asked you to investigate me?”

“I can’t tell you that,” said Deanna.

“Of course you can’t. And I guess my guiltiness is all just presupposed. To think I woke up this morning thinking the worst thing would be if you went to the paper to run your mouth about my marriage. I send in my friend to smooth things over only to find out there’s no such story and instead that you’re some kind of rogue crime solver and you’d gotten me, of all people, stuck in your sights.”

“The spouse is always the first suspect,” said Deanna. “And you don’t have an alibi for his death.”

Cas sighed.

“I was with Meg,” said Cas. “She wanted to talk about how things ended. We talked all night.”

“But she’s not going to go up to the stand to say that,” said Deanna. “The more I hear, the more it seems to me like you’ve been set up as a patsy.”

That caught Cas’ attention. Something a little too much like hope in her eyes, and damn it would the girl not learn? Shame filled every part of Deanna as she realized that despite her anger and hurt the actress still seemed to want Deanna to like and believe her.

“So you don’t think I did it?”

“I can’t rule it out,” said Deanna. “But if I had to place my bets… no. I don’t think you hurt a hair on his head, however much he might have deserved it.”

Cas frowned. The next few minutes were spent silently smoking side by side as the actress collected her thoughts. Deanna let her take her time.

In retrospect, that idea probably wasn’t the wisest.

“Why do you think he was murdered, anyway?” asked Cas at last. “Even before you knew about our troubles, you were certain he was murdered.”

“I’ve got a buddy that works down at the morgue,” said Deanna. “He said cause of death was blunt force trauma inconsistent with the fall he took off the balcony. Somehow that didn’t make it into the police file.”

“How did that happen?”

“Oh, Frank knows that the boy who works for him is a little rat. He’ll take a bribe any day of the week. Frank lets it slip to me every once in a while which corpses were paid to have a different cause of death.”

Cas looked appalled. Deanna couldn’t help grinning at her.

“Shouldn’t the boy be fired?”

“Why? Then Frank wouldn’t know what people are trying to keep quiet,” said Deanna. “So I asked after Lucci when I got hired to look into his death. He was murdered before he took his final flight. Hit over the head and then shoved over the balcony.”

“Holy shit,” Cas muttered, her hand shaking a little as she snuffed out her cigarette against the wall. “I’m sorry. I hated him, but dear goodness… what a way to go. You really don’t think he was still alive before they threw him off?”

“Is knowing going to do anything but make you sick?” asked Deanna. She waited for Cas to shake her head before continuing. “Well, the crux of it is, he was murdered. Frank promised me a week before he tells the cops Niccolo’s suicide was faked. I’ve got till then to solve this.”

Castiel frowned.

“Not if you’re openly working on the case,” said Cas. “Then you’ve got as much time as you need.”

“Secrecy was a condition of this job.”

“Then I’ll hire you, too,” said Cas. “You don’t think I did it. That’s a head start I’m figuring I’m going to need. I haven’t exactly been grieving for him.”

Deanna shook her head.

“I’m not taking your money, Cas,” she said. “I… I feel bad enough as it is, okay?”

“Then help me,” said the actress, and if Deanna wasn’t the one being played now, then the sky wasn’t blue and pigs had fucking wings. But the way Cas looked at her… Deanna was a goner. “Deanna, I’m asking you to clear my name. Niccolo controlled so much of my life when he was living. I don’t want his death taking away my freedom too.”

Deanna dropped her cigarette and put it out with the heel of her boot. Cas kept staring at her, and once again she felt her usual inhibitions breaking down under the woman’s gaze.

“Fine,” said Deanna. “I’ll work it out. You have to get me access to everyone who knew Niccolo. I’m talking interviews, but I want to see them naturally first. See what they’re like when they don’t think anyone important’s watching.”

“I can do that,” said Cas, nodding. “It isn’t a long list. Niccolo liked to be alone most of the time. It was why I didn’t question if he might have fallen prey to foul play earlier. He didn’t make enemies, because no one knew him well enough to hate him.”

She paused, smiling bitterly.

“Except me, of course,” she added.

“Who are we talking about here?” asked Deanna.

“Well, Meg was with me when he died, so she couldn’t have done it. That would leave his cousins, Michele and Gabriele Lucci,” said Cas. “And also Abby Dante.”

“That the redhead you were chatting up at the party?”

“Niccolo was seeing her,” said Cas primly. “He wasn’t happy that I always refused him. He seemed to think making his girlfriends more obvious would shame me into providing for him. Like I gave a damn that people talked. Abby thought I was jealous, and it drove her insane he wouldn’t leave me for her. If only she’d been a bit richer, they both could have been very happy together.”

Deanna did remember having a vague notion of Lucci’s exploits making it into the rags every once in a while. No one had had the indecency to actually ask Cas about Lucci’s affairs, though. Reporters might be lacking in class (according to Sam they had to be to get at the truth), but they weren’t monsters. Not like Lucci was.

“I’m glad he’s dead, too,” said Deanna. Cas’ little look of surprise at Deanna’s vehement statement was enough to bring her to her senses. “I mean-“

“Abby was making comments about Niccolo at the party,” Cas interrupted. “She kept trying to get me to talk about him and me.”

Deanna tried to hide her relief that she didn’t have to explain herself. Cas had provided her an out, and she was taking it for all it was worth.

“Alright then, let’s start with Abby.”

~~~~~~~~~

“You son of a bitch.”

“Oh, what was I supposed to do? She sends in some English lawyer threatening to sue us to the ground because he claimed a woman named Daphne fucking Smith was spreading false information about his client. You think I wouldn’t remember that alias, Deanna? So, yeah, I sent her off in your direction and told her you weren’t a scumbag. You’re welcome.”

“When I asked for help, I didn’t mean tell one of the suspects where I work and half my real name.”

“You think Lucci did it?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t see the problem,” said Sam. “For crying out loud, would you have rather I scared the poor woman and told her we were going to print some awful thing about her just to cover your ass?”

“Of course not, Sam,” said Deanna. “But you could’ve given me a head’s up or something, at the very least.”

“So you could run out on her again? She seems like a decent dame. And at least she’s not on the lam.”

And of course Sam would bring it back to Crowley.

“Crowley’s done his time,” muttered Deanna. “And he’s been on the level since, alright?”

“You mean he hasn’t been caught,” said Sam.

“I mean he’s none of your beeswax, smartass,” said Deanna. “And Cas even less so. She’s a case, got it? And since when are you even so gung-ho with me being interested in girls?”

“Since a fella beat your face in,” said Sam. He seemed to regret it the moment he said it, but he didn’t take it back. “You know I want you to be happy.”

“I’d be very happy if you gave me the damn research on Masters and Lucci,” said Deanna. “And I’d be even happier if you believed me when I tell you that this is what I want. Do you listen when I talk, or is it all just background noise to your little quest to get me settled?”

Sam crossed his arms, biting back his anger and waiting a few moments before answering her.

“Don’t take me for granted, Deanna,” he said at last. “If you don’t want my help, stop asking for it when it’s convenient and freezing me out when you don’t much like what I have to say.”

“So now I’m the one freezing you out?” asked Deanna.

“Last I checked, roads go both ways,” said Sam. He pulled out a file and tossed it at her. Deanna caught it so none of the papers slipped from the file, but just barely. “That’s everything I could dig up about Masters and Lucci. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

“So that’s how it is, huh?” asked Deanna, feeling like she’d just been slapped in the face.

“Yeah, that’s how it is,” said Sam.

~~~~~~~~~~

After looking through everything Sam had pulled together, Deanna had a better sense of who the key players in Lucci’s life would have been. Niccolo’s cousins were moderately successful businessmen, though the occasional article announced investigations into their assets that never bore fruit. If Michele and Gabriele were anything like Niccolo, however, that didn’t mean they were clean. Meghan Masters was a good friend of Niccolo’s, and had been the first person to elevate him into the public eye, since Deanna could find nothing indicating Niccolo had been involved in any of his cousins’ business endeavors. Before that, Sam hadn’t been able to find any kind of employment as far as Lucci was concerned, though he had inherited enough money to live well for a while.

Abby was only briefly mentioned in Sam’s research as one of Lucci’s possible girlfriends. He’d listed two or three other names, but since Cas hadn’t mentioned them as important, Deanna set them aside for the time being. The smart money was on focusing on Abby, especially since she’d made several attempts to talk to Cas about his death.

And that was how Deanna found herself sitting in a cafe watching Castiel Lucci stress-smoke her way through four cigarettes in the fifteen minutes it took until Abby showed up as agreed to talk to Cas. Deanna was inconspicuous, but close enough to eavesdrop, and had had to resist the urge to tell Cas to ease up on the smoking.

Abby picked up on Cas’ nervousness with ease. She had the killer instinct of a shark and poor Cas was blood in the water. Abby Dante had but to sit down before she starting running her mouth.

“So you’ve decided to hear me out, have you?” asked Abby, sitting next to Cas, flagging down a waiter and demanding a drink off of him. Deanna wouldn’t be surprised if the kid spit in that drink before he handed it to her. “We both know he didn’t jump.”

Cas’ expression remained unchanged. Abby seemed to take that as an insult.

“Listen up,” Abby hissed at Cas. “I know you had something to do with Niccolo’s death. He was going to leave you the night he died. He told me to pack my bags so we could skip town, and I wait all night for him to show up only to hear he’s dead in the morning.”

“That’s news to me,” said Cas carefully, putting out her cigarette in the ash tray and fully facing Abby.

“I’m going to eviscerate you for what you did to him.”

“Neat word,” remarked Cas, apparently unable to help being a smartass. “Eviscerate. Really rolls off the tongue. I bet you’ve just been waiting to use that one.”

Deanna decided that this was a good time to jump in. She’d learned as much as she needed about what Abby Dante was like unobserved by authority. So she put her paper down, and moved over a booth, sitting next to Cas.

Abby stopped talking in the middle of some kind of hissed threat and looked at Deanna with wary confusion.

“We’re having a conversation,” she said. “Buzz off.”

“Deanna Winchester, private investigator,” said Deanna, reaching her hand out to shake. “Castiel hired me to look into her husband’s death. Including all of the people he was… closest to.”

Abby didn’t even blush. If anything she smirked, an expression clearly aimed for Cas. And Deanna’s opinion of the woman sunk ever lower.

“So you did care about him after all,” said Abby. “Though you’ve got a funny way of showing it.”

“Ms. Dante,” said Deanna, trying not to let her dislike get in the way of grilling the suspect. Abby’s eyes swiveled away from Cas and to Deanna. “I just have a few questions for you.”

“Of course,” said Abby, gesturing expansively.

“Where were you at the time of Niccolo’s death?” asked Deanna.

“I was at home,” said Abby. “Niccolo was supposed to meet me there, and I got worried when he didn’t. By the time I was looking for him, he was dead.”

“So you don’t have an alibi,” Deanna said, causing Abby to scowl at her. “I overheard you telling Castiel that he was going to leave her for you. Have you come into any money recently?”

The waiter stopped by their table to hand Abby her drink. She took her sweet time sipping at it before she bothered to answer Deanna’s question.

“And if I have?”

“It stands to reason that Niccolo might have decided that you were worth actually pursuing,” said Deanna. “Considering he was never interested in actually being with you before.”

“You rotten little-“

“Say you figured out he was using you to make Cas uncomfortable, and only cared about you now because you finally managed to work your way up to the right tax bracket,” said Deanna. “So you wait until a night that Cas isn’t home, whack him, and leave her to take the blame.”

Abby stared Deanna down with what could only be called distaste. She finished her drink in a long swallow, and then set it down delicately.

“If I were going to knock someone off,” she said. “I think I’d be smarter about it than that.”

Which was a fair point. Then again, love made people do crazy things, as Deanna knew only to well.

“One last question,” said Deanna. “You said Lucci wanted to skip town. He give you any indication why that might be the case?”

Abby actually seemed to take that question seriously. A little of the hostility ebbed from her features as she considered.

“He wouldn’t tell me,” she said. “I got the feeling trouble was heading his way and he wanted to keep ahead of it.”

She paused, spared a glance for Cas and then kept talking.

“Believe it or not, I actually cared about the man,” said Abby. “I’m not frigid and unfeeling like some people.”

She left a five dollar bill on the table and told Cas and Deanna to tell the waiter he could keep the change.

“Well, she’s a ray of sunshine,” said Deanna, shaking her head. When she turned to look at Cas, she was surprised to see the actress looking off a little to the left, her eyes unfocused.

“Cas, are you feeling-?”

“I’m swell,” said Cas focusing back in at lightning speed. “I thought it was her.”

“And?”

“I don’t anymore,” said Cas, looking towards the door where Abby had made her exit. “Though I suppose you’re the expert.”

“I’m not going to rule out a suspect,” said Deanna carefully. “And she’s not telling us everything, that I know for a fact. I think mostly she wanted to get under your skin.”

Cas nodded, lost in thought. Her expression cleared and she looked at Deanna carefully.

“I know I told you that Michele and Gabriele were the only other people I could think of that might have something to do with Niccolo’s murder,” said Cas. “But… they’ve been very kind to me, despite everything. I could be wrong. Niccolo could have enemies I never knew about.”

On impulse, Deanna reached forward to catch one of Cas’ hands and give it a reassuring squeeze.

“I’ll look into it, okay?” said Deanna, catching Cas’ eyes again. The actress nodded a little hesitantly and after a moment squeezed back, which caused Deanna to realize what she had just done and drop Cas’ hand like it was on fire. “I- I’m sorry.”

“I don’t mind,” said Cas softly, which made Deanna’s too fast beating heart stutter to a stand still. The room seemed a little too small with those eyes on her. Despite every piece of evidence to the contrary, Deanna couldn’t shake the image of Cas as too innocent for her own good. She had bite, sure, but there was something gentle about her that Deanna knew she didn’t deserve.

“I have to go,” said Deanna, leaving Cas alone in the middle of the cafe, staring after her in mild confusion.

~~~~~~~~~~

Deanna didn’t make it a habit to drink with Crowley.

For one thing, he insisted on ordering needlessly complicated drinks even when Deanna made it clear the only order of business should be getting drunk. The unfortunate truth, however, was that Crowley was one of the few friends she knew would indulge her self destructive tendencies without actually letting her do anything to stupid.

That, and she had some questions to ask him about the late Niccolo Lucci.

“Vaguely,” Crowley had responded when Deanna had asked if he knew him at all. “We ran in different circles. And he’s been out of the game since he started riding Meg Master’s coattails to recognition and a rich wife.”

“You coulda mentioned,” said Deanna. Crowley rolled his eyes.

“I assumed you’d figure it out for yourself, darling,” he muttered, ordering the both of them another drink. “And we both know that’s not why you’re really here.”

Deanna downed half her whiskey before she bothered to think through the implications of that. Then she internally denied what was implied, and finished the rest of her whiskey.

“How come we never got married, Crowley?”

“Because we can’t stand each other,” he said, taking the fruit off the top of his cocktail and eating it before sticking the umbrella neatly back into place. Deanna snorted.

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

Deanna ordered another drink and Crowley side-eyed her with growing exasperation.

“Is this genuinely all for some Hollywood brat?” he asked, a little incredulously.

“She’s not like that.”

There was a moment of silence as both of them came to terms with how defensive that sounded. Deanna sighed, and slumped so her elbows were resting on the countertop of the bar and her head was cradled in her hands. She didn’t have to look at Crowley to know he was staring at her.

“You really are gone on this one,” said Crowley. Then he let out a low whistle. “Of all people. I thought maybe it would be Benny, before he went off to fight in the war and came back engaged to that Greek doll of his. I was almost certain you’d try to work something out with the Braeden girl you were so fond of.”

“You hated Lisa.”

“What can I say? I’m the jealous type,” said Crowley dismissively. “I could have lived with Talbot, if you’d bothered to give her the time of day.”

“Talbot’s as bad as you are.”

“I don’t know. Ever consider that maybe you’re the problem, sweetheart?” asked Crowley. “You’ve got charm, but you just can’t make anyone stay.”

Deanna sipped at the next drink that was set in front of her and taking a measure of comfort in the familiar feeling of the alcohol burning down her throat.

“Who says I want to?” she asked. “Do I look like the settling down type to you?”

“We’re both romantics at heart, love,” said Crowley. “You can’t lie to me about that. And you are terrified of being alone. You always have been.”

Well, hot damn, when you put it like that. Deanna wasn’t much sure if she wanted to punch Crowley or attempt to sink further into the countertop. She ruled out violence when Crowley put money on the table to pay for their drinks. Booze always tasted better free, even when it was coming back up. At least when you were spewing your guts out, you knew you hadn’t paid for the unpleasant experience.

“So,” said Crowley when they were outside and waiting for a cab. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to solve the case, and then I’m going to let her get on with her life.”

“Right. That sounds like you,” said Crowley, shaking his head with an almost sad smile. He deftly changed the subject before Deanna could chew him out for it. “I was thinking of running for office again.”

“I suppose you think third time’s the charm?” said Deanna sarcastically. Crowley barely winced.

“Well, you know what they say when you don’t succeed,” said Crowley. “Which, coincidentally, is a lesson you might want to learn someday.”

Crowley took the first cab that came around, and Deanna was glad because it gave her a few seconds to think before she went back to her apartment where she could hole up and go over the facts of the case another time or two.

How she was going to do that with a splitting headache she wasn’t sure, but she’d find a way to manage. “We Can Do It!” and all that jazz.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a week before Cas managed to arrange a meeting with Gabriele and Michele officially, and the police had just gotten wind of the case by then. Which meant everyone close to Lucci had been grilled by a cop and had an idea what questions to watch out for, which meant Deanna already was facing an uphill battle. Not only that, but explaining to Michele that she was “pretending” to work for Cas hadn’t been a picnic.

He’d stopped paying her anyway once the police were involved. Then he’d kindly told her she could drop what she was doing and let the professionals handle it. Not that Deanna was going to do that anyway, but she especially wasn’t going to hop to after being condescended to like that. The guys from the station had already made her blood boil that day when they’d asked her how the detective business was going and if she’d learned her lesson about being over her head yet.

Not damn likely, she’d told every last one of them. John Winchester himself heard that one directed at his partner who had been loudly asking the man himself why he let his daughter get away with her bullshit and whether he was going to tell her to knock it off anytime soon.

Which meant that now Deanna was officially working the case for free, and she was going to be cutting down on meals if she wanted to afford Charlie’s salary this month. Her friend was less than understanding about why.

“Just let Cas pay you,” she’d said after the fourth meal she’d seen Deanna skip.

“I already told you, I’m not taking her money.”

“I’d rather you feel guilty and eat,” said Charlie. “You’re no use to anyone if you drive yourself into the ground any time you make a mistake.”

“Yeah, well you’re not much use to me if you don’t stay out of my fucking business,” Deanna had said. Then Charlie had practically marched out of the room, and later Deanna had felt bad about that. It wasn’t Charlie’s fault Deanna was a bit of mess at the moment.

Later when she apologized, Charlie had just thrust a wad of cash her way and raised an eyebrow.

“Taking care of yourself is the only apology I want,” Charlie had said. Deanna looked down at the money.

“Do I want to know where you got this?” she asked warily.

“Probably, but I’m not going to tell you,” said Charlie cheerfully. “Also, I’m leaving early tonight. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“Hot date?” asked Deanna, taking note of the spring in Charlie’s step. Charlie smiled dreamily.

“She’s a real dreamboat, Dee,” said Charlie, which surprised Deanna. Charlie had an active love life as far as Deanna was aware, but she’d never before specified that it was girls she was seeing. Deanna supposed that whatever hesitancy Charlie might have had probably disappeared around the time it became clear that Deanna had slept with Castiel and tried to run out on her the next morning. “I think she’s the one.”

And if that didn’t somehow slam open an entire world of worry.

“It’s not- It’s not Cas, right?” asked Deanna before she could stop herself. Charlie blinked at her. “I just- I know you’ve been keeping in touch with her to organize the interviews.”

“No, you knucklehead,” said Charlie in utter disbelief. “Not that she’s not- She’s all yours, is what I’m saying. I’m not blind.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Deanna, doing her best to be evasive. Charlie didn’t stand that for an instant and with a look she crumbled whatever ignorance Deanna could try to claim. “It’s not like…. that. It can’t be anymore. Not after how badly I screwed up.”

“Have you bothered to ask Cas about that?” asked Charlie.

~~~~~~~~~~

Michele Lucci didn’t take being interrogated by the PI he’d hired the week before very well. He was uncooperative and angry, and pointed out that the police had already made headway into a couple of leads attached to the carefully hidden criminal past of Niccolo Lucci’s.

“I’m just trying to go through every avenue of investigation,” said Deanna. “I’m sure you understand.”

Michele’s eyes flicked to Cas, who was frowning at Deanna. Deanna could see the gears in his head turning as he realized that Cas still truly had no idea that Michele was the one who had hired Deanna in the first place. He smiled thinly at Deanna, perhaps impressed with her integrity if nothing else.

“I was the one who brought his death to your attention in the first place,” he said. Castiel’s head whipped around to look at him. “And he was my family. What does family mean to you, Deanna?”

“Everything,” said Deanna, trying to swallow around the lump in her throat as she thought of the embarrassed look on her father’s face when his friends jeered at her for trying to do field work, and Sam’s ultimatum still weighing her down if she ever stopped to think about it. If this case went belly up, she wasn’t sure what she would do to repair her relationships with them. “Which means I understand the impulse to strangle them every once in a while.”

Michele let out a sad little chuckle at that, a smattering of real grief through his icy exterior.

“Did you tell Deanna I did it?” asked Cas abruptly, breaking through the small moment of connection that had taken Deanna by surprise.

“Of course not, Castiel,” said Michele. “You were as much family to us as Niccolo was, no matter what the situation may have been between the two of you.”

Castiel seemed a little comforted by that, and Deanna took the interruption as an opportunity to redirect the conversation.

“Do you have an alibi for that night?” she asked him. Michele shook his head.

“I was asleep in bed. I’m not married, so I don’t have a soul to vouch for me,” said Michele.

“Do you know anyone else who might have wanted to hurt your brother?” asked Deanna. “I know the police are looking into old criminal connections, but he hasn’t spoken to any of them in years. Their was no forced entry into the apartment, which suggests either Niccolo let them in or they had a key.”

“I don’t think-“ Michele started, but hesitated. “No. There’s no one I can think of.”

Deanna thought about pushing Michele to say what he hesitated to, but knew sometimes that only made people clam up more. So instead she gave him the number she and Charlie used for their office and told him to drop a line if he thought of anything.

Michele nodded courteously.

“Ms. Winchester,” he added before Deanna could leave. “I am sorry for what I said before. It’s clear I underestimated you.”

“You wouldn’t be the first,” said Deanna. “But thanks for admitting it. That’s more than most men would do.”

He looked as though he were about to say something else, but before he could Castiel had turned around and was tugging on Deanna’s wrist. Deanna followed her, and shut the door behind the both of them.

“Why didn’t you tell me Michele was the one who had hired you?” asked Cas in a kind of whisper shout.

“What part of requesting secrecy did you not understand when I ran it by you the first time?” asked Deanna, annoyed. “If I’m willing to give up people’s identities when they ask me to look into things or send me information, then how is anyone supposed to trust me?”

“How am I supposed to trust you if I know you’re keeping things from me?” Cas shot back. “I don’t want to go to jail for a crime I didn’t commit. I think I’ve been punished enough for-“

“For sleeping with a married woman? Because that was sure classy,” said Deanna, knowing just how mean that sounded even before the words left her mouth. Castiel’s mouth slammed shut, and righteous anger seemed to fill every inch of her.

“At least I have the decency to tell the people I sleep with my real name,” she hissed back. “And I don’t leer at anything that moves.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” asked Deanna. Cas glared at her, resentment starting to creep in along with the anger.

“I saw the way Michele turned around on you,” said Cas. “You were trying to… to bewitch your way into his good graces.”

Horsefeathers, this could not be happening.

“You’re jealous?” asked Deanna incredulously. “Christ, you’ve known me a week, Castiel. I know you’re smarter than this. And for what it’s worth, I wasn’t doing any leering. Especially not-“

Deanna cut herself off before she could say something stupid.

“What?” Cas demanded. Deanna muttered in frustration before answering her.

“Especially not with you sitting right there,” said Deanna. Cas blinked up at her. “I wouldn’t have made you uncomfortable like that, alright? Not on purpose, at least.”

“Oh,” said Cas quietly. She looked back toward the door, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Did he have to go out of his way to mention he was single?”

“Easy, tiger,” said Deanna, unable to keep from grinning. “I still have to grill Gabriele. You won’t have an heart attack if he looks at me, will you?”

Cas smirked, which made Deanna all kinds of worried.

“I think I’ll be alright,” said Castiel. “Gabriele is a terrible flirt. He’s hopelessly in love with a half dozen people, but especially his current girl.”

“And he’s also a possible murderer,” said Deanna, which caused Castiel to sober instantly. “Cas-“

“I know,” she said. “Everyone’s a suspect. Even me.”

Deanna didn’t have a word to say to that.

~~~~~~~~~~

If Michele was understated with his wealth, Gabriele was almost garishly ostentatious about it. His walls sported famous artists, his desk was covered with high quality knick knacks, and there were a series of pictures of Gabriele with the well to do of Hollywood. A picture of Cas was noticeably absent, which helped Deanna’s dislike him a little less. At least he wasn’t using her fame to his advantage, considering how the two of them had become acquainted.

But Gabriel certainly wore his wealth on his sleeve. If any doubt was left as to whether or not he had made, him loudly exclaiming to one of his underlings that he was the one with the megabucks was enough to confirm it.

“Hello ladies,” said Gabriel, when Deanna knocked at his open door. “C’mon in. Alfie, go get them some water or something. Unless you want something harder? Cas, I know you like drinking suckers under the table.”

“Deanna Winchester, private detective,” said Deanna, before he could go on. His expression hardened within a fraction of a second. “Castiel hired me to look into the death of her husband. You are Gabriele Lucci?”

“What’s this about, Cassie?” said Gabriele, voice gone a little dangerous.

“Do you have an alibi for the night of the murder?” asked Deanna, swinging his attention away from Castiel. Gabriel loosened back up into his carefree swagger so fast it was dizzying.

“I spent the night here,” said Gabriele. “Alfie will back me up.”

“I’ll check into that,” said Deanna confidently. “Before Niccolo died, was there any causes for concern? Any enemies he may have had?”

“Niccolo kept to himself,” said Gabriele easily enough. “I can think of two people tops who might have wanted to murder him.”

“And they are?”

“Abby Dante and Meghan Masters,” he said. “His girlfriends.”

Gabriele looked down, almost ashamed as he saw the stricken look on Cas’ face.

“Sorry, Cassie,” he mumbled.

“You’re… you’re sure?” Castiel asked hesitantly. “Both of them?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” said Gabriele, with a shudder. “En flagrante, sure, unfortunately. Niccolo used one of the rooms at my place every once in a while. He wasn’t considerate enough to let me know when he would be doing so.”

“So he has a key to your apartment?” Deanna asked. “Did you have one to his and Cas’?”

“Yeah,” said Gabriele. “But like I said, I have an alibi.”

“It’s possible someone else might have taken it that night, though,” said Deanna.

“No, it’s not,” said Gabriele. “Just how many questions are you going to ask, sweetheart?”

“Just a couple more,” said Deanna, bristling at the patronizing tone. “Who do you buy art from? My brother was thinking about adding to his collection, and yours is just stunning.”

“Around,” said Gabriel, frowning at the change in direction. “I keep my eyes out for it. I can give you a few names later, if you want.”

“That would be swell,” said Deanna. “Last question. Did Niccolo owe you and Michele any money?”

“Why would you ask that?” asked Gabriel.

“You and Michele seem to have more than enough to go around,” said Deanna. “And Niccolo spent some time around rather unsavory types. It would stand to reason you might have tried to help him out of a hard place. That sort of thing gets old the more it happens, though.”

“Niccolo did fine for himself,” said Gabriele. “You done?”

“Yeah, I’m done,” said Deanna. She and Cas got up to leave.

“Hey Cassie, next time you visit, bring more pleasant company,” said Gabriele to her. “Kali found someone else, and I’m heartbroken, just heartbroken. I know you’ve got those pretty actress friends of yours.”

“And I’d rather not alienate them,” Cas said back, smiling at him. “You come on a little strong.”

“Hey, no use in lying about what you want,” said Gabriele with a fond wink at Cas. “Besides, it’s good to see you around. Rotten circumstances or not.”

Cas mustered a smile for him before they left. Deanna could see where Cas’ hesitation had come from before. Although she seemed to like Michele well enough, Gabriele acted almost brotherly towards her. Considering Cas’ family was never mentioned in any of the many interviews Deanna had read over the past week, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine she wanted him to be innocent, if only to maintain that kind of relationship with somebody.

It also wasn’t a stretch to imagine that helping Cas out of a disastrous marriage was a plausible motive for Gabriele.

Deanna was lifted from her thoughts when she caught sight of the dead eyed expression on Cas’ face. And that was when it came back to her that Cas had just learned that Meg had likely been sleeping with Lucci at the same time as she had been with Cas.

“You doing alright?” asked Deanna.

“No.”

“For what it’s worth… you deserve better than all this,” said Deanna. Cas looked up at her and her expression seemed to thaw. She awkwardly lifted her arms, and Deanna realized a moment too late what she was after. Cas had almost turned back, her cheeks red with shame before Deanna pulled her into a hug. A moment later she felt Cas relax against her.

“Take me home?” Cas asked quietly.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Cas,” said Deanna. “See, the thing you don’t get is you deserve better than me, too.”

There was a beat of silence as Cas took that in.

“Take me home, anyway?”

~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t do this sort of thing, you know,” Castiel said quietly in the early hours of the morning. “Before I met Meg… there was no one. And after, I couldn’t trust anyone I knew as far as I could throw them. Even without knowing the worst of it. But when I met you…”

There was a beat as Deanna kept stroking Cas’ hair and wishing away the swell of feeling in her gut.

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” Castiel continued, voice tinged a little too dark with cynicism. It made Deanna want to go back in time so she could punch out anyone that made Cas sound that jaded. “But I knew you were something special, Dee. There was just… a spark.”

Deanna cleared her throat, not quite looking at Cas.

“This sort of thing is pretty much all I do,” said Deanna. Cas’ face seemed to close off at the confession, a seeming confirmation that she was just another face to be forgotten in the morning and another name to sit uncomfortably at the back of Deanna’s head. Cas tried to shrink away from her, those defenses coming up again as though they had never fallen. At least until Deanna shifted to pull her closer and whispered: “But God, it’s never like this. You’re something else, Cas.”

Cas buried her head into Deanna’s neck, and pressed herself as tight as she could. Deanna pressed her lips to Cas’ forehead and felt her heart skip a beat at the little sigh Cas let out.

“I can’t remember the last time I was this happy,” said Cas softly. Like if she said it too loudly, someone might take it all away from her. As if that wasn’t supposed to break Deanna’s heart.

“I know the feeling, baby,” said Deanna. “I more than know the feeling. I’ve been kinda on my own for the past couple of months, and it just eats at you.”

Cas hummed against Deanna’s neck in agreement.

“Feels like no one’s on your side,” murmured Deanna quietly.

“That’s not true,” said Cas. “Charlie and Sam, they both love you.”

Deanna stiffened.

“What makes you say that?”

Cas was quiet for a moment, and it was clear she knew she’d said something she shouldn’t have, but she wasn’t sure why.

“They look out for you,” said Cas hesitantly. “Is there-“

“Specifically how?” said Deanna, sitting up and actually looking at Cas now.

“Well, Charlie told me how much work you were putting into the case,” said Cas, brow furrowed. “And Sam’s been working with my lawyer Balthazar on how they’re going to spin the story when Niccolo’s murder hits the papers. Make sure I come out okay. Every time I talk to them, it’s so obvious how much they care about you.”

There was a beat of silence as Deanna took that in.

“Did neither of them tell you that I-“

“I guess not,” said Deanna. “Figures that nobody ever tells me anything. I’m guessing you’re the one that gave Charlie that money?”

“You are working for me. I don’t expect you to work for free.”

“I told you I didn’t want it,” said Deanna. “I don’t need you looking out for me, and I certainly don’t need them going behind my back. I don’t need their help, especially when my dumbass brother won’t even talk to me anyway.”

Deanna turned away from Cas, sitting at the edge of the bed. She tried to will herself to get up and get dressed, so she could write this night off as the mistake it was. Instead she just sat there, completely still, until Cas crawled across the bed to sit next to her.

“I know what it’s like to have nothing,” said Castiel. “My parents had only just arrived in America when I was born. They left Russia after civil war broke out to escape the pogroms. Then my father disappeared, and my mama had to raise me alone. Accepting charity wasn’t in her blood, and she’d starve before complain about not having enough to eat.”

Deanna looked at her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“I don’t mention it,” said Cas quietly. “Acting means I get to be someone else. And I’m always acting.”

“Sounds lonely,” said Deanna.

“Sounds like you would understand,” said Cas back. Deanna kissed the corner of her mouth and then put her arm around Cas’ shoulder as they sat, staring at nothing. Deanna muffled a small laugh as she thought about it.

“What’s funny?” Cas asked her.

“I’m imagining a conversation with my dad,” said Deanna. “Meet my girlfriend. Yes, I mean it like that, but don’t start cussing me out until I finish. She’s also Russian. And Jewish. And an actress. Am I your favorite child yet?”

“I’m not a communist,” said Castiel, sounding tired. Deanna squeezed her shoulder.

“Wouldn’t care if you were,” she said. “My good friend Garth thought Marx had some good ideas. I don’t claim to know much about politics. But I know enough about people like me being called degenerates and… worse. People are always looking for somebody to blame. Somebody to hate, even if they aren’t hurting anyone.”

“Well if I was one, they’d make sure I never worked again. They put you on a list and no one will hire you,” said Cas bitterly. “Another reason I don’t talk about any of this. I was already scared before any of this mess with Lucci happened, Deanna. You think you can trust people, but you just can’t. And I keep forgetting that.”

Deanna wasn’t sure if she should say what she wanted to say. Because Cas shouldn’t think she could rely on Deanna. It was only going to lead to more heartbreak for her. But Cas had been so open with her, and she didn’t want the actress to think she’d go spilling her guts to whoever asked about Cas’ life.

“You can trust me, you know.”

“I know,” said Cas. “You’re different.”

Cas kissed her reverently, like Deanna was every dream she’d had come true. It was a moment Deanna never wanted to end.

~~~~~~~~~

Cas was brought in for questioning the next morning. Her lawyer, Balthazar, arrived almost at the same time Deanna did, which was impressive considering Deanna was actually at Castiel’s house when the cops came calling and she followed them back to the station.

Walt was the one doing the interrogation, and Deanna was glad that Balthazar got there as quickly as he did. Deanna remembered that Walt had a talent for tripping up suspects into making themselves sound guilty, a talent she personally thought was functionally useless. He liked talking people in circles until they hardly knew what they were admitting to.

A lawyer sounded like the perfect person to handle him. Especially Balthazar, whose posh accent and dramatic flair seemed to be rubbing Walt exactly the wrong way. He had an inferiority complex a mile wide, and Deanna knew from experience he didn’t like to feel outsmarted.

Everything seemed to be going fine until Walt revealed some ace up his sleeve that had Balthazar pausing and Cas frowning in confusion.

Deanna knocked on the door with the glass of water she had poured as an excuse to get in if she needed to. She’d had to sweet talk her way so she could watch what was going from the window to the interrogation room, but it was worth it to have eyes on what was happening.

“Hey Walt,” said Deanna with a nonthreatening smile. “Henrikson saw I was hanging around, and told me to get you something to drink. Figured you could use it.”

She knew that Victor would back her up on it if he was asked, if only because he was treated as poorly as she was, if not worse by the other guys at the station. He’d decided to stick around and tough it out, though, while Deanna had gotten out so she could work on her own. He kept her updated on some of the more annoying cops’ cases so that she could steal the answers out from under them sometimes.

It paid to have friends everywhere, and Deanna was good at making friends. Sure, she was better at making enemies, but you win some and you lose some.

“Deanna,” said Walt magnanimously, the way he only spoke if he thought he’d won. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve heard that you’re working for Mrs. Lucci.”

“I am,” said Deanna, eyes flickering toward Cas. “Have been since before you all realized which way was up.”

Walt scowled for a second before he managed to return to his previous level of self-righteousness.

“Well, I happen to have a witness that puts her at the scene of the crime,” said Walt. “And she doesn’t have an alibi.”

Deanna looked at Cas, silently telling her to say Meg’s name. Cas kept her mouth tightly shut. Deanna turned back to Walt.

“With what motive?”

“The late Niccolo Lucci was having an affair,” said Walt. “He was going to leave her for Abby Dante, and Castiel killed him. Easy.”

“It’s weak,” said Deanna. “You really think that’ll hold up in court?”

“Yeah, I do,” said Walt. “Now go be a doll and go tell Roy he can book Lucci, here.”

“Sure thing,” said Deanna, leaving with absolutely no intention to do anything of the sort. She walked past everyone and out the door with only one goal in mind.

Find Meghan Masters and make her admit where Cas was that night.

~~~~~~~~~~

“And you’re sure that’s her address?” said Deanna. Sam nodded, distractedly.

“For the third time, yes,” said Sam. “And you know, hello to you too.”

“You want to have that conversation right now?” asked Deanna incredulously. “Cas is in jail.”

“Like that’s never happened to you before,” said Sam, causing Deanna to glare at him. “I’m just saying. At least Cas is actually innocent.”

“Are you ever going to let that go?” said Deanna. “You think I’m not embarrassed about what happened with Crowley? That I don’t remember having to come home after that mess, and the way Dad looked at me afterwards? The way you looked at me?”

“Deanna-“

“No. I am sick of the way you two treat me like I’m just some dumb girl that you have to put up with,” said Deanna. “I’ve solved every case I’ve gotten since I started doing this, did you know that? Twenty cases in a year and a half. I know I scared you when I went after Alistair, but he’s behind bars now and I did that. Would it kill you to be… I don’t fucking know… proud of me?”

Sam frowned up at her, eyes wide like he did when he was a kid and he wanted something. He looked god-damned mournful, and Deanna had never been able to tell when that was genuine or when he was faking.

“You think I’m not proud of you?” said Sam. “You’re the smartest person I know, of course I’m proud of you, Dee. I just can’t stand to see you hurt, okay? And you don’t seem to give a damn.”

“You think I make bad decisions,” Deanna said.

“You do,” said Sam. “But that doesn’t mean you’re dumb. I promise you, no one who has any clue what they’re talking about thinks that. I never thought that.”

Deanna frowned, looking down at the scribbled address on the piece of paper in her hand. She knew she had to get going, but she wasn’t sure if she should try to finish this conversation and bury whatever issues she and Sam had between them.

“So are we talking again?” asked Deanna.

“I don’t know,” said Sam. “But you should go. Make sure your girl’s okay.”

Deanna had barely gotten permission before she was out the door and on her way to Meghan Masters’ house.

~~~~~~~~~

Convincing Meg to come forward had gone easier than Deanna had expected it to. She agreed almost immediately, and even came up with a lie that would be convincing. Cas had discovered that she and Lucci were having an affair and wanted to confront her about it.

“Won’t your husband mind?” asked Deanna.

“He’s not going to find out,” said Meg, taking in Deanna’s hostility with interest. “You’ll make sure of that, won’t you?”

“As best as I can,” said Deanna. “If only for Cas’ sake.”

“I did love her, you know,” said Meg. “You don’t have to look at me like I’m dirt.”

Deanna didn’t really look at her at all after that. Instead she spent the long process it took to get Cas out of the can going through all of the information she had amassed as long as she’d been on the case, along with the information she’d confirmed with Sam along with Meg Masters’ address. Slowly a picture began to form in her mind, and over the course of the afternoon, Deanna had worked out exactly who had killed Niccolo Lucci and why.

It struck her so quickly that she didn’t know how it hadn’t come to her before.

When Castiel got out of jail, Deanna didn’t wait a second before telling her to have another party and to make sure that both of the Luccis, Abby Dante, and Meg Masters, along with Victor Henrikson and Sam to it.

“I’ve solved the case, doll,” she said to Cas. All she got in return was a raised eyebrow.

“You could just tell the police, Deanna,” she pointed out reasonably.

“And let those scumbags take all the credit?” scoffed Deanna. “In your dreams.”

“I think I’ve fallen in love with a madwoman,” said Cas, though she couldn’t help smiling at Deanna fondly. Her expression grew more stern as Castiel remembered she wasn’t exactly happy with Deanna at the moment. “But you shouldn’t have involved Meg in this.”

“Castiel, darling,” said Deanna, smirking at Cas’ huff of irritation. “All I heard was you say that you loved me. After that, it’s just a buzz.”

Cas rolled her eyes, but a touch of a smile flickered back onto her lips.

~~~~~~~~~~

To say that Gabriele, Michele, Abby, and Meg were surprised to show up to a dinner with a cop and private detective would be understating the situation. Deanna was glad she hadn’t mentioned Sam was a reporter, or someone might have had a heart attack.

As it was, the situation was tense as they sat around. Deanna had instructed Henrikson to say that the police had determined the person responsible for Lucci’s murder and thought that it would put all their minds at ease to know who it was. Everyone visibly relaxed until Henrikson nodded towards Deanna.

“The truth is, it could have been any single one of you,” said Deanna with a smile. “No one here has a rock solid alibi.”

Gabriele started to speak up before Deanna threw a look his way.

“You should pay your assistants better,” said Deanna to him. “It tends to inspire more loyalty. Alfie admitted he didn’t know where you were the night that Niccolo died.”

Gabriele glared at her, his hands tightening into fists. Deanna decided to go on.

“Meg and Cas, are the only ones with any alibi at all,” Deanna continued. “Which meant the process of elimination wasn’t a walk in the park. All of you had motive. Niccolo was in perpetual need of money and a master manipulator. He was charming enough to convince Abby and Meg to sleep with him, despite the fact he was married.”

This was obviously news to Abby, who looked outraged.

“And he was looking to skip town, which lets me know he wanted out of something,” said Deanna. Her eyes turned to the Lucci brothers. “Paying old debts, perhaps?”

“This is ridiculous,” said Gabriele. He looked over at Henrikson, arms crossed. “You really think this bitch has any clue what she’s-“

“Gabriele,” interrupted Cas. “You’re like a brother to me. You know that. But call Deanna that word again, and I will run you through with my fork.”

Gabriele looked appropriately chastened. Deanna went on talking.

“It didn’t start to come together for me until I grilled Gabriel, and I noticed some of his artwork. Personally, I don’t much care for art, but my brother Sam takes an interest. He actually happens to have one of the same paintings that Gabriel has hanging in his office,” said Deanna. “The exact same.”

Sam’s eyebrows went up as he realized.

“You’re saying I bought a fake?” he asked incredulously.

“A good one, too,” said Deanna looking at Gabriele. “A perfect replica all the way down to the signature. Tell me Gabriele, how well did you know Niccolo’s handwriting?”

Gabriele grit his teeth.

“Well enough to forge it?” Deanna pressed.

“Fine,” said Gabriele a moment later. “You got me. I did it. I murdered Niccolo, and I wrote a note so it would be ruled a suicide, and then I paid off the morgue assistant just in case.”

“No you didn’t,” said Deanna, causing the attention of everyone at the table to swivel back to her. “Michele’s the one who murdered him.”

There were three seconds of silence before:

“You’re wrong.”

“Niccolo owed you money, and he was using Cas to pay it back,” said Deanna. “But Niccolo got used to a certain lifestyle, and he started thinking about getting out from under your thumb. You loved Niccolo, you gave him every chance to do right by you and Gabriele. You were his family. And he repays you by trying to elope with Abby Dante, so he can get out of repaying his debts.”

“But the note,” Sam said, looking between the two Luccis suspiciously.

“Michele asked Gabriele to go with him,” said Deanna. “To scare Niccolo. Imagine Gabriele’s surprise when Michele killed him.”

“He didn’t mean to,” said Gabriele into the tense silence that followed. “Niccolo wasn’t supposed to die.”

“Except he was,” said Deanna, eyes fixed on Michele. “Because you knew Cas would be the first person they would suspect. You weren’t planning on Gabriele leaving a suicide note or bribing anyone to protect her. And that’s why you hired me to look into Lucci’s death. You assumed I would figure out just enough to put Cas away for your crime.”

Michele regarded Deanna coldly, and didn’t respond to any of her accusations.

“Tell me, Michele,” said Deanna. “What does family mean to you?”

“Loyalty above everything,” he said back stiffly. It was as good as a confession, as far as Deanna was concerned, though she doubted it would hold up in court. Lucky that that wasn’t all she had.

“Which is why you convinced Abby Dante, here,” said Deanna, nodding towards the redhead. “To make up a story about Cas fleeing the crime scene. Abby already thought that Cas had done the deed. It wouldn’t have been hard to convince her that she was right, and should do something about it.”

Abby didn’t look like she much liked being hoodwinked.

“You snake,” she said to Michele, which was as much confirmation as Henrikson would need to make an arrest.

“You didn’t want Gabriele to take the fall for you,” said Deanna. “Which he would. It’s like you said: loyalty above everything. You just didn’t realize in time that that meant he was going to try to keep both you and Cas safe. Because to you, she didn’t really count. But Gabriele knew that if everyone thought Niccolo committed suicide, then no one would have to face the consequences. Of course, Gabriele also altered Lucci’s final wishes so that Cas kept all her money, and the two of you got nothing out of Niccolo’s death, and you just couldn’t accept that, could you?”

“You are a remarkable woman, Deanna Winchester,” said Michele, sensing the game was up. “You’re much more clever than you look.”

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” said Deanna, feeling defensive despite seeing Henrikson get up to cuff Michael. He looked at her like he understood her, and wanted to win her over to his way of thinking, and it made her skin crawl. If Niccolo was half the creep his cousin was, Deanna could understand just why Cas had hated him so much.

“You got him,” Sam said to her quietly, shaking Deanna out of her discomfort. “You’re fine. You got him.”

Deanna painted a smirk back on her face.

“Of course I did, Sammy,” she said. “I’m good at this kind of thing. Be sure to mention that in your article. And make sure you spell my name right.”

Sam didn’t look like he bought her nonsense for a second, but he went along with it anyway. For the moment at least. They were working on it.

“You did good,” said Sam. He paused a moment and then: “And I’m sorry.”

“You were just worried,” said Deanna. “I get it.”

While they were talking, Deanna had kept half an eye on everyone else. Abby and Meg had both left as soon as possible, likely because they didn’t want to be involved in anything that was happening (Deanna had convinced Sam to leave Meg’s name out of the story entirely), Henrikson had left with Michele so he could book him back down at the station, and Gabriele and Castiel had begun talking to each other in low voices. Castiel’s face was gentle as she spoke to him, and Deanna couldn’t help but stare.

“I think I love her, Sam,” said Deanna, not bothering to look away from Cas as Sam started choking on nothing. He’d be fine.

“That’s a good thing, right?” said Sam carefully, once he’d stopped coughing.

“Right now, it’s the best thing in the world,” said Deanna. “What do you think Dad would say?”

“Dear God, we’re never telling him,” said Sam, a look of horror crossing his face. Then he looked toward Deanna and grinned. “I think she’ll be good for you. I think she’s been good for you.”

“Yeah,” said Deanna. “I think so, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Deanna still preferred the edges of parties, no matter how many she went to Cas with. The press had dubbed them fast friends, and that suited Deanna just fine. She’d done a minimum of networking among Cas’ acquaintances in the business to make sure she had eyes and ears in places she might need them, but otherwise her relationship with Cas soon lost any public or private interest. They just weren’t scandalous enough to keep making the papers.

If only they knew, Deanna thought to herself mischievously.

“Still skulking in corners, love?” said Crowley, who had managed to sneak up on her somehow.

“Sure am,” said Deanna brightly. “What about you? Shouldn’t you at least try to act a little less shady now that you’re representing the good state of California?”

Crowley groaned.

“I hate politicians,” he said. “They’re all a bunch of raging madmen who see communists behind every damn curtain and are a bad day away from outright starting a nuclear war against the Russians.”

Deanna thought of Sam, and the idea of another war, one that he would be old enough to participate in made her feel cold all the way through.

“Well, keep us out of it,” said Deanna. “And if worst comes to worst… Sam doesn’t get drafted, I don’t care how you do it.”

“And if he enlists?” asked Crowley.

“You’ve always been good at making deals. Figure it out.”

“Anything for you, pet,” said Crowley sarcastically. His eyes flicked towards the other side of the room. Deanna followed his eye line to see that Cas was watching her. Deanna winked, and Cas blushed a little, looking down with a smile. “Looks like we both got what we wanted in the end.”

“What do you mean?” asked Deanna.

“You found someone who stuck around,” said Crowley. “I found my true calling.”

“I thought you hated it,” said Deanna. Crowley shrugged.

“The world’s an inch away from ending,” said Crowley darkly. “If you’ve got ‘em, might as well smoke ‘em. Remember that, Deanna, don’t take a single fucking day for granted. Dark times are ahead, I can promise you that.”

“Every night your last night, huh? That’s what you’re going with?” said Deanna. “I’d spend them all with Cas.”

“I know you would.”

“You ever get over me, Crowley?” asked Deanna next. He gave her a look, and she shrugged. “Just wondering.”

“There’s no universe where I would answer that question,” he said. “Go give your girlfriend a kiss for me. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

Deanna frowned at him, genuine worry starting to soak through her good mood as she realized just how serious Crowley was being.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” she said to him.

“I always do,” he said back to her. Deanna nodded distractedly, and then went over to find Cas and sit her down so they could enjoy each other’s company without anyone asking Cas off to go dance.

“What’d Crowley want?” asked Cas when they sat. Deanna shook off the gloom that had settled in her bones.

“Nothing,” she said. She leaned forward to kiss Cas on the cheek, an innocent enough gesture. Cas still smiled sweetly in response, and reached out to hold Deanna’s hand. If Deanna held it back a little too tightly, she didn’t mention.

It was a light moment, fragile and beautiful as a bubble. All those colors sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. Deanna held Cas’ hand and silently prayed for the bubble never to pop. That somehow if she just hoped long and hard enough, she could keep everything as it was. Cas by her side, and Sam safe and at home, and the world from toppling over a precipice.

“I love you,” murmured Cas to her, as loud as she dared. Deanna’s smile felt too ragged for the sentiment, that cloud of fear just outside, waiting to rush back in. But not now. Not yet.

“Me too, Cas,” said Deanna. “Always, okay? No matter what.”

They watched the sun set that night, and later Deanna held Cas in her arms and kissed every inch of her. Every night your last, she thought to herself. Just in case everything they knew came toppling down come morning.

And then Deanna would wake up, kiss Cas on the forehead and make her way downtown to the office she and Charlie shared and work on her next case, and planned to keep on going through the motions of it all until the status quo was pried from her hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought. I was going for kind of a noir feel to it.


End file.
